Victor Ponta

Almost every month there is a new report in the Romanian media that another public dignitary is suspected of plagiarising her or his post-graduate dissertation.

Journalists present what they call evidence of plagiarism, the people accused deny any wrongdoing, while readers comment a lot.  And that's all.

Romanian Senators have decided with 102 votes in favour and only 30 against to lift the immunity of MP Gabriel Oprea, the former interior minister, so he can face a criminal inquiry over his use of motorcades.

While denying wrongdoing, Oprea himself voted in favour of lifting his own immunity from prosecution.

Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos on Friday announced he is no longer using the traditional motorcade when going to work, as he does not need it and doesn't want to hamper the traffic in an already congested Bucharest.  

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday will call for a major re-write of the country's complex laws in an address to the country's parliament.

A document that BIRN has obtained quotes the President as saying: "This has to be the moment for a new beginning. Parliament must be at the heart of simplifying and rationalising legislation, which now is too complex.

A Romanian lawyer, a Bulgarian politician and a Croatian scientist have been listed as three of 28 people from EU states who are "shaping, shaking and stirring Europe" in a feature published by the Politico website on Wednesday.

Romania is represented on the list by Laura Codruta Kovesi, the woman leading the country's battle against corruption.

Romania's National Ethics Council, an Education Ministry panel, is to analyse this week if Toba plagiarised material for his PhD thesis, after media reports alleged that he used papers posted on the internet without crediting their authors.

Romania's parliament on Tuesday approved the new government of Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos by 389 votes in favour to 115 against.

"We want to act efficiently and achieve good results, so that people regain confidence in public policies. Parliament will have a reliable partner in the government," Ciolos told MPs after the vote.

As Prime Minister-designate Dacian Ciolos prepares to form a new technocratic government, one of his main challenges is a tight 2016 budget, stretched by pending tax cuts and other pay awards nodded through ahead of the next election.

Ciolos faces more pressure after parliament approved a controversial law increasing public-sector wages by 10 per cent from December.

Dacian Ciolos is Romania's designated Prime Minister

President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday nominated former European Commissioner Dacian Ciolos as the new prime minister after Victor Ponta resigned following the nightclub fire that killed at least 48 people.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis nominated Dacian Ciolos as the Prime Minister-designate entrusted with forming the country's next government.

Ciolos served as Romania's Agriculture Minister between 2007 and 2008 and after that was nominated as Agriculture Commissioner by then European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, a position he held between 2010 and 2014.